EVs still aren't out of the woods in America
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The past few weeks have given rise to some much-needed EV optimism in the U.S., but today we have the solemn, if unsurprising duty of informing you that electrification in America still faces major challenges. Volkswagen announces it will stop manufacturing its signature ID.4 electric crossover for the U.S. market and a promising battery recycling startup declares bankruptcy after the Trump administration canceled a major grant. But who knows? Maybe a couple more weeks of blockade in the Strait of Hormuz will be what’s needed to truly restore faith in electrification.
What you need to know
Europe finally embracing AVs: First, Pony.ai, Uber and Croatian mobility company Verne launch the E.U.’s first robotaxi trial in Zagreb. Second, the Netherlands authorizes Tesla’s Full Self Driving software for use, the first country in the EU to do so. FSD may be a fact of life in many American cities, but Europe has been far more hesitant to embrace autonomous driving technology. In their defense, they have far less to gain in terms of safety than the U.S., whose traffic fatality rates are 2-4 times greater than most other western countries.
VW pulls the plug: In one of the most surprising pullbacks of the year, the rise in gas prices and the corresponding surge in EV sales in the U.S. didn’t stop Volkswagen from halting production of the ID.4, its signature EV crossover, at its plant in Tennessee. Americans who still want one will be able to buy them until inventory runs out –– probably at some point next year. The Detroit automakers’ business is almost entirely premised on gas guzzlers and Japanese brands like Toyota and Honda dominate with hybrids but have been hesitant to embrace a full transition to EVs, but VW is the top EV brand in Europe and #4 globally. Apparently it judged the political and economic headwinds in the U.S. too strong to continue.
Battery recycler declares bankruptcy: Ascend Elements, a promising battery recycling startup, throws in the towel despite raising roughly $900 million. Its death is another symptom of the challenging landscape EVs face since Trump’s return to power. Not only is the $7,500 EV tax credit gone, but Ascend suffered greatly when the Trump administration pulled back a $300 million grant it had received to build a plant in Kentucky.
A look at the future of autonomous trucking: Our friends at the MIT Mobility Forum are hosting what promises to be a very interesting webinar this Friday with Chris Urmson, CEO of Aurora Innovation, now operating driverless trucks across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. The trucks have so far driven 250,000 miles with zero incidents. Register now to watch at 12 pm EST.
It can find them, but can it fix them? Waymo and Waze, the mapping service that is also owned by Alphabet, are teaming up to spot potholes and share the information with local governments. That’s very helpful, comments Barak Sas, author of the Moving People newsletter, but “the real challenge for cities is finding the budget & resources to fix them. AI isn’t able to pour tarmac. Yet.”
What we’re reading
Waymo at the airport…sort of: San Francisco tech investor and political activist Garry Tan accuses the San Francisco International Airport of protecting incumbent ride-hail operators at the expense of Waymo. Since January Waymo has been authorized to do airport pickups and drop-offs –– but only at the Car Rental Center, 10 minutes away from the terminal.
Why robots shouldn’t look like us: Siddharth Ramakrishnan says it makes little sense to develop the “humanoid” robots that have attracted so much interest and investment in Silicon Valley, most notably from Tesla. “When you’re optimizing for winning, you don’t constrain yourself to human limitations,” he writes. “You optimize for the task.”
